Carl Sagan: Inspirational Quotes

20 Inspirational Quotes by Carl Sagan

01. Imagine, a room, awash in gasoline. And there are two implacable enemies in that room. One of them has 9,000 matches. The other has 7,000 matches. Each of them is concerned about who’s ahead, who’s stronger. Well, that’s the kind of situation we are actually in – COLD WAR -.

02. In science it often happens that scientists say, “You know that’s a really good argument; my position is mistaken,” and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn’t happen as often as it should, because SCIENTISTS ARE HUMAN and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.

03. We live in a SOCIETY absolutely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. That’s a clear prescription for disaster.

Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.

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Pale Blue Dot Speech

04. Science is much more than a body of knowledge. It is a WAY OF THINKING. This is central to its success. Science invites us to let the facts in, even when they don’t conform to our preconceptions.

05. Every KID starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact.

06. I would love to believe that when I die I will LIVE AGAIN, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.

07. Who is more HUMBLE? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever it has to teach us, or somebody who says everything in this book must be considered the literal truth and never mind the fallibility of all the human beings involved?

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08. The COSMOS is all that is or ever was or ever will be. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.

09. IMAGINATION will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.

10. It is all a matter of TIME SCALE. An event that would be unthinkable in a hundred years may be inevitable in a hundred million.

11. The suppression of UNCOMFORTABLE IDEAS may be common in religion and politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no place in the endeavor of science.

BOOKS permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.

12. History is full of people who out of fear or ignorance or the lust for power have DESTROYED TREASURES of immeasurable value which truly belong to all of us. We must not let it happen again.

13. If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further, to include the WHOLE HUMAN COMMUNITY, the entire planet Earth. Many of those who run the nations will find this idea unpleasant. They will fear the loss of power.

14. EVERY ONE of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.

15. In the long run, the AGGRESSIVE CIVILIZATIONS destroy themselves, almost always. It’s their nature. They can’t help it.

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16. The SKY CALLS TO US. If we do not destroy ourselves, we will one day venture to the stars.

17. Because the cosmos is also WITHIN US. We’re made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.

18. There are many hypotheses in science that are WRONG. That’s perfectly alright; it’s the aperture to finding out what’s right. Science is a self-correcting process.

19. Every thinking person fears nuclear war and every technological nation plans for it. Everyone knows it’s MADNESS, and every country has an excuse.

20. Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. WE SPEAK FOR EARTH. Our obligation to survive and flourish is owed not just to ourselves, but also to that Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.